Runaways
by AnimeFanatic223
Summary: After running away from Konoha, Naruto and Hinata run into many dangers and obstacles while trying to survive in the world. NaruHina and slight HakuHina. R
1. To Go Or Not To Go?

** This is a new Naruto story I'm currently working on. This story'll take place when Naruto and Hinata were kids. The rest... well, hope you enjoy this story. And this was kinda inspired by another fanfic. Enjoy:D**

_**Disclaimer:**_** I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**To Go… or Not To Go**

Naruto, the young 4-year-old, blonde haired boy from Konoha watched as people walked by, doing their daily routine. There were shinobi, a few ANBU members, men, women, and children. Children his age ran about happily, either returning home from the Academy or catching up with their parents.

Parents. He always wished he had them. But he was all alone. He never even knew his own parents. He also never had any friends.

All the adults and children ignored him. All he could do now was watch from afar; unfortunately, he wasn't like that. Sure he just watched everyone, but he didn't want to do that.

He just wanted some attention. He didn't care who it was, but he wanted at least _one_ person to give him some attention!

"Maybe," he said to himself. "one day… I'll become the next Hokage! Yeah. Maybe."

The thought started to fade away after a while. Sure, he could be the next Hokage, but what will he do? He wasn't strong and his ability to use his chakra wasn't perfected yet. He had no idea how he could do this.

Then it hit him! If he trained every day, then he'd become the next Hokage!

"I think I'll start… right now!" he said as he ran back home to get stuff for his training.

_Meanwhile, at the training grounds…_

_WAP!_

"Ha, ha, ha, ha… ha, nineteen."

_WAP!_

"Ha, twenty! Ha, ha, ha."

_WAP!_

"Ha, ha, twenty.. one. Ha, ha, ha… ha… ha… ha… ooh."

Four-year-old Hinata Hyuuga collapsed as she was about to strike the post again. Her small, pale hands were bruised and worn out. Sweat was matted to her forehead. Her white eyes looked all tired with the black circles around them. And her short, raven colored haired was a mess!

She had been at the training grounds for a day now and never slept during that time. Hinata was only training here because she didn't want to train back at her home. She didn't want to look like a failure to her father again, so she snuck out and went to the training grounds to improve her skills.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, t-twenty-one hits… ha, ha, ha, and no improvement yet. Ha, ha, ha, ha." she said to herself. Her body shook a little. Tears started to form in her eyes; she didn't know what to do next. She certainly didn't want to go back to the Hyuuga estate, but at some point, someone would send out a search party to find her.

"W-what should I do?" said Hinata. Her body shook violently now and began to cry. What _can_ she do? She didn't even know. After crying for five minutes, she wiped her eyes and struggled to stand up.

After a while, she was on her knees, gently rubbing her sore, wet hands with her fingertips.

"Hina-chan?" said a voice. Hinata gasped. Someone was here! Her head spun around to see who it was. She blushed when she saw who _he_ was.

Naruto Uzumaki was standing a few inches near her, a kunai knife and shuriken pouch in his hands.

"N-Naruto-kun. O-Ohayou." she stammered.

"Ohayou. What are you doing here Hina-chan?"

"Um, I, uh, you see… um, uh…"

"Were you… training?"

"H-Hai."

Naruto smiled and helped Hinata get on her feet.

"Great! I came here to train myself!" He flashed a goofy looking grin at her, which caused her to crack a smile and blush deeper.

"I-I see. Um, Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah?"

Hinata's blush got deeper as she tried to get the words to come out of her mouth. "Umm, w-will you…? Uh, well, do you want t-t-t-to, um…"

Naruto looked a bit annoyed now, but then relaxed when Hinata turned her head away. He sweat dropped.

'_What's with her? She's a little freaky.'_ he thought.

"Uh, Hina-chan?"

"Hai?!"

Hinata's head bolted in his direction, her blush as deep as ever and she looked more than a little freaked out. Naruto scratched his head and asked, "Since we're both here, how about we train together, is that okay?"

Hinata smiled and slowly nodded. Naruto smiled back, then strapped the shuriken pouch on his left leg and handed Hinata the kunai. She fumbled with it for a while, then she managed to hold the hilt right. She never held a weapon before, so this was her first time using it. Naruto stepped back a few spaces and put his hand in the pouch, pulling out a shuriken.

"We'll practice throwing first, okay? You take that post," He pointed at one target post. "And I'll take this post." He pointed at another target post. He faced it.

Hinata faced hers. She started to worry. She didn't know how to use a weapon! Her hands began to tremble at the thought of missing the target or failing to hit it.

"Aaannnnd… NOW!" Naruto shouted as he threw the shuriken at the target. It missed the post and hit a tree.

"AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHH!!!!!!!! IT ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS MISSES!!!!" he screamed. Hinata looked over at him to see if he was alright. He glanced at her.

"Hina-chan. Why didn't you throw your kunai?" he asked.

Hinata flinched. She was supposed to throw _now?_ She quickly looked back at the target, readied the kunai and threw it. She closed her eyes when she let go. When she opened her eyes, she saw that the kunai didn't hit the target, but landed a foot away from her.

It wasn't even _close_ to the target! She sighed depressingly. She had failed once again.

"Gomen." she said as she started to walk away.

"Wait Hina-chan!" said Naruto. Hinata stopped walking. "Do you wanna stop now?"

Hinata froze hearing that. He didn't tell her that she was a 'failure' or told her to stop practicing, but simply asked if she wanted to stop practicing.

'_That probably means that he wants me to keep practicing.'_ she thought to herself. She faced Naruto and said, "No. I-I… want to k-k-k-k-k-keep p-pr-practicing!"

Naruto grinned.

"Then c'mon! Let's keep practicing!" he said, getting another shuriken from his pouch.

_Hours later…_

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha…"

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha…-cough-"

"I give up! Ha, ha, ha… I can't hit it!"

"Ha, ha, ha, me either! Ha, ha, ha."

Naruto and Hinata collapsed on the ground. Sweat was matted to their foreheads and their cheeks were red due to sunburn. The training grounds were _littered_ with shuriken and kunai markings appeared on a lot of trees! The blonde boy was out of shuriken and the Hyuuga girl was completely exhausted from all of the throwing.

"N-N-Naruto… kun. Ha, ha, ha… let's face it. We… we failed. There's no way we can get… s-s-st-st-stronger… ha, ha, ha, ha… this way!"

"Ha, ha, ha, ha. Are you k-kidding me Hi-Hi-Hina-chan? Ha, ha, ha, we can do this! I-It's ju-just that… we need, ha, ha, ha, we need… to learn more than just using weapons!"

Hinata wiped the sweat off her face and struggled to stand up. Naruto did the same and dusted himself off. They stared at each other for a while, Hinata blushing (though it hard to tell through the sunburn) at that moment.

"Sayonara!" she said as she ran off. Naruto watched as she ran and started thinking about what she said before. Was she right about failing? If she was, then was there _no way_ to become Hokage? He sighed.

"What am _I_ kidding? Maybe everyone would be better off if I wasn't around." he said to himself. With that, he picked up all of the shuriken, put them back in the pouch, grabbed the kunai, and walked back home.

"Clothes? Check. Canteen? Check. Backpack? Check. Favorite nightcap? Check. Instant ramen? Check. Well, that should be it." said Naruto, checking off all of his items on a scroll. "Oh! I forgot. Weapons and training scrolls? Check!"

He checked off the last items on the scroll, rolled it up, and placed it in a drawer on his nightstand. He looked out the window. It was nighttime; the pitch black sky was lit up with beautiful white, shiny dots and a big, round, silver plate that seemed to captivate all that saw it. Naruto sighed.

"I guess I… better get going." he said, grabbing his backpack and putting in all of his things. After he was done packing, he put his backpack on, stood up, and walked towards the door out of the house.

He looked around and saw all of the buildings of Konoha, the tree where he used to go on the swing, the Academy, even the stone faces of the past Hokages as he walked. He sighed when he passed the Hokage's office. He stopped in front of the gates of Konoha, hesitating a bit.

"It's kinda risky for me… but," he said. _'I don't want to stay here where everyone's gonna ignore me.' _he thought. _'Augh! What should I do?!'_ He held his head as if he had a headache, he didn't know what to do.

"Can I actually… do this on my own?" he asked no one in particular. He sighed and was about to go back home, when…

"Naruto-kun!"

"Huh?"

"Naruto-kun!"

Naruto turned around to see someone come towards him.

"Hina-chan?" he asked. Hinata ran up to him, and then stopped in front of him, trying to catch her breath. She had used her Byakugan to find and catch up to Naruto. He was surprised to see her actually.

"What are you doing here Hina-chan?" asked Naruto. The Hyuuga girl took one more deep breath before answering, "Are you… l-leaving K-Konoha?"

Naruto nodded. He then noticed that Hinata was wearing her pink kimono and had a small, lavender carrying bag over her right shoulder; she was bare foot, too, like him. He on the other hand was wearing a white t-shirt and black shorts, with a yellow backpack on his back.

"W-What are-"

"I-I want… to c-come with y-y-you, if th-that's… okay."

Hinata blushed once again and turned her head away from Naruto when she said that. Naruto just stared at her for a while.

"Why do you want to come?" he asked.

Hinata bit her lip before answering, "I-I-I… I just don't… want you t-to travel… alone."

Naruto gasped. _She_ wanted to go with _him_… because she didn't want him to travel alone? He smiled his biggest smile of all time. He then grabbed Hinata's hand and walked through the gates of Konoha.

"Then LET'S GO!!" he shouted. Hinata's face flushed! She then smiled a little, enjoying the moment. She then looked back at Konoha. Naruto did the same as he walked.

They both knew that it was going to be the last time they ever saw Konoha.


	2. Being Followed

** Wow. I just noticed that this fanfic had been put on 4 alerts and 1 fav! And on the day I put this fic up, too! I'm so happy!! XD Now on with Chapter 2!**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do however own the four Cloud ninja and Ojirou Shitake.**_

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Being Followed**

"Huh?" said Naruto, half-asleep. Dawn came to light up the forest that the blonde four-year-old had fallen asleep in. He had slept on a makeshift bed made out of leaves that he made last night. He looked around and saw Hinata, who was accompanying him, sleeping soundly by an oak tree; she had a white blanket over her. Naruto rubbed his eyes.

"I forgot that I left Konoha last night. Mmm… where are we anyway?" he asked to no one in particular. He then remembered! He and Hinata had managed to walk 20 miles away from Konoha's gates the night before and decided to make camp in the forest at that point. Naruto stretched and yawned as big as he could. He then got up and walked over to the sleeping four-year-old Hyuuga girl.

He gently shook her shoulder a bit.

"Hina-chan. Wake up, it's morning." he said. Hinata moaned a little before slowly opening her eyes and staring at the face of the blonde.

"Naruto-kun? W-Where-?"

"We left Konoha, remember?"

"Oh. How far are we from the border?"

Naruto shrugged.

"I dunno. I'm guessing, maybe a… ten hour walk 'till we get there."

Hinata moaned, then sat upright and stretched out her muscles. She got startled when she heard something. She immediately stood up, ran, and hid behind a tree that was near the road. Naruto looked puzzled.

"What's wrong Hina-chan?"

Hinata didn't answer; she just looked around the tree. She quietly gasped and ran back to Naruto, wrapping her arms around his neck as she did so in fear. Naruto was a bit startled by this sudden embrace and asked, "Hina-chan. What is it? What did you see?"

Hinata's small body shook as she answered.

"They're coming… th-th-th-th-the search teams, they're coming!" She held him tighter now. Naruto knew that no one would even _bother_ to send a search party for _him_, so he assumed that they were looking for Hinata. He thought at first that the Hyuuga girl should be found and brought back to the village so that she'll be safe and he'll be the one to face the danger alone… but then he remembered the reason on _why_ Hinata was with him in the first place.

Because she wanted to come with him and keep him company. She was pretty much the only person who actually cared about him; the only friend that he has right now. He pulled away from Hinata, gathered up all of their things, then grabbed the white eyed girl by the hand, and ran far away from where they were; away from the search party. They ran until they were both sure that they were far away from the search teams.

"Ha, ha, I think we lost 'em." said Naruto when they stopped running. Hinata let go of Naruto's hand to catch her breath, nodding in agreement. The blonde then looked around at their surroundings.

"How far are we from the border now? It's hard to tell." he asked. He turned his head towards Hinata, an idea starting to form in his head. He didn't know all of the details on the Hyuuga clan; all he knew about them was their ability to use the Byakugan to see far distances and chakra in other people.

"Say, Hina-chan."

Hinata looked at Naruto, blushing as she did so. "Hai?"

"You can look at long distances using that thing you do with your eyes, right?"

"You mean the Byakugan?"

"Yeah that! So can you?"

Hinata knotted her fingers and twirled them in a fidgety way. She looked down for a while, then back at Naruto. She slightly nodded and said, "Hai. But I can't see too far, j-just a few miles… um… yeah that's it."

Naruto crossed his arms in deep thought. A few miles wouldn't help them figure out how far they were from the border of Konoha, but he guessed it would take six hours now. He unfolded his arms and handed Hinata her bag. She took it.

"C'mon Hina-chan. Let's rest for a while." said Naruto as he walked to an area on the side of the road. Hinata stood there staring at the blonde for a while, then she followed him.

* * *

SLURP!

Naruto slurped up the ramen that he made from instant ramen packs that he brought in one gulp. Ramen was Naruto's all time favorite food. Hinata just stared at him as he was eating. She then looked down at her own pack of ramen; steam was coming out of the pack for it was filled with hot water a while ago. Naruto noticed that she wasn't eating and asked, "Are you gonna eat that?"

Hinata looked back at the blonde, her eyes meeting his. She blushed again and answered, "Um, h-hai. It's just… I don't know. The way you eat… kind of… d-d-disturbs m-me is all." She turned her head away from him, not really sure if she said the right words.

Naruto swallowed his ramen and just stared blankly at Hinata. _'Weirdo. But, maybe I shouldn't eat so sloppily in front of Hina-chan… maybe when I'm alone.'_ he thought. "Is that it Hina-chan?"

The Hyuuga girl shook her head. "I-I also have this weird feeling. I don't know w-what it is, but I th-think that someone's watching us. Right n-now."

Naruto looked around, up, down, left, right, and side to side. Nothing. Not even a trace of a silhouette or chakra _anywhere_.

"What do you mean Hina-chan? I don't see anyone around." he asked. Hinata looked surprised for a while. She then smiled and said, "N-Nothing. Forget about i-it."

"You stammer too much."

"I do?!" Hinata was pretty surprised to hear this from Naruto.

He nodded. "Yeah. I noticed that when we were at the training grounds yesterday. It makes you look like a weird person." He took another bite at his ramen as he said this.

Hinata's face flushed and she looked down at her ramen, a hurt expression on her face.

"It… does, huh?" she asked. Her voice sounded hurt and she looked like she was on the verge of crying. Naruto noticed this and sighed.

"I'm not saying this to be mean Hina-chan," he started. Hinata looked up at Naruto, wondering what he was going to say. "I'm telling you all of this as a friend and you just need to work on talking without stammering every so often. You know… as a friendly reminder in a way."

Hinata sighed softly, not really understanding what he meant by all of that.

"Hina-chan. I'm just saying you need to _stop stammering_ and speak normally. Otherwise a lot of people will think you're weird and ignore you." Naruto added. At the mention of being ignored, Naruto thought about why no one would pay any attention to him. He didn't understand why, but he never liked being ignored by everyone.

His expression looked upset at that moment, causing Hinata to worry about him.

"What's wrong Naruto-kun?" she asked. Naruto snapped out of his trance and shook his head.

"It's nothing Hina-chan. I was just thinking that's all." he said, flashing that goofy smile at her. Hinata giggled and blushed slightly.

"Oh and Hina-chan?"

"Hai?"

"Your ramen's going to get cold soon."

Hinata gasped and started eating. On the first bite, she looked astonished. "It's good. It's like nothing I've ever tasted before!"

Naruto grinned and continued to eat his ramen.

----------------------------------

After breakfast, the two four-year-olds were on the road again. They both made sure that they weren't being followed, though Hinata could've sworn that she heard something rustling in the trees as they walked. Naruto just looked around when he heard something, later shrugging it off when he figured it was nothing but nerves. He stopped and took a gulp of water from his canteen, then he gave it to Hinata so that she could get a drink, too.

"Okay, how about you use your Byaku- whatever you called it."

"Byakugan?" Hinata gave the canteen back to Naruto as she said this and wiped off the remaining water that clung to her lips.

"Yeah! How 'bout you use that now?"

Hinata nodded, closed her eyes and started making the hand signs to perform the Byakugan. After finishing making the hand signs, her eyes snapped open; veins appearing on the side of eyes indicating the use of chakra. She could see further down the path and noticed that it led to an open clearing.

"I see a clearing up ahead. I think we're getting close to the border." she said. Naruto smiled and went into a victory pose.

"Great! After we're past the border, we'll be out of Konoha!"

"But, Naruto-kun…" said Hinata, deactivating her Byakugan. Naruto got out of his pose and looked over at Hinata.

"Yeah?"

Hinata looked at Naruto, saying, "When we _do_ get past the border, where will we go? We don't have any money and we're too young to rent a room at an inn when we get to a town."

Naruto had to think about this one. Hinata was right, they didn't have any money on them and they're too young to rent an inn. They also had to worry about other ninja: the ANBU, jounin, search parties, and a lot of ninja that would attempt to kill them without mercy!

"We'll think of _something_ Hina-chan. Let's just worry about getting past the border right now, okay?" he finally answered. Hinata nodded as they started to continue walking again.

After walking for a few hours, they finally reached the edge of the clearing. Just one more step towards it and they'll be out of Konoha for good. Both of them looked nervous. It was just too risky. On one hand, they wouldn't have to worry about Konoha anymore and live their own lives… but on the _other hand_, they'd be out in the open and would make an easy target for ninja who would kill without mercy.

They stared at each other, trying to figure out who should go out first. A dead silence filled the air as the tension between the two grew. Naruto broke the silence by saying, "Um… Maybe I should go first, see if the coast is clear, you know?"

Hinata nodded.

"Be careful Naruto-kun." she said in a whisper-like tone. Naruto gave a confirming nod, and then walked out into the open. He looked left, then right… twice. Nothing. He waved over at Hinata, confirming that the coast was clear.

Hinata was still wary, but she ran over to the blonde anyway. They both smiled and rejoiced! They were finally beyond the border! Their troubles were _over!_ They held each other's hands and danced around in circles they were so happy!

They both laughed and held each other in a friendly embrace when they finished dancing. Hinata blushed when they embraced while Naruto was just enjoying the moment of freedom. Their happiness ended when suddenly…

"Awww, how cute! A couple of kids are having some fun here!" a male voice said in a cutesy tone.

"Yes. How delightful." said another voice, female this time.

Naruto and Hinata slowly pulled away from each other and saw four people towering over them. Three guys and one girl. All of them were wearing ninja outfits and had headbands with the symbol of the Cloud village. Cloud ninja.

Naruto looked up at one of them, the guy that made the cutesy tone, and asked in a demanding sort of way, "Who are you guys?"

The guy ninja adjusted the headband that around his forehead and answered Naruto's question by saying in a normal tone, "We're Cloud ninja, kid. Got a problem with that?"

Naruto glared at him. Another guy ninja that had the headband around his neck chuckled.

"That's your answer, Kaoru! A death glare from a shrimp! HAHAHA!" he laughed.

"Shut up, Mitsuku!" the nin named 'Kaoru' threatened. The last guy ninja that had the Cloud headband around his wrist stared at Hinata for a brief moment. The Hyuuga girl looked frightened and took a step back, accidentally knocking Naruto over. The Cloud nin gasped and grabbed the female's arm in excitement.

"Mimiru! That girl is a Hyuuga! There's no mistake about it, she's a Hyuuga girl! Right out here in the open!!" he shouted. The female Cloud ninja called 'Mimiru' shoved the guy ninja off of her and adjusted the headband that was around her left arm.

"I know that Shinto! And from the looks of her, she looks like one of the higher-up Hyuugas, an elite." she said with interest as she eyed Hinata. At that point, Naruto picked himself up from the ground and grabbed Hinata by the wrist, pulling her close to him.

"What do you want from us?! And why are you all so interested in Hina-chan!!" he demanded. Kaoru shoved Naruto and roughly grabbed Hinata's wrist.

"None of your beeswax, runt!" he shouted. Hinata screamed and tried to pull away from the Cloud ninja's grasp. Naruto groaned and looked up to see Hinata trying desperately to escape from the Cloud. The other Cloud nin were trying to restrain the Hyuuga girl as she struggled. Hinata looked over at Naruto and screamed, "Help me Naruto-kun!" as she was lifted into the air by Kaoru and flung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Naruto growled and charged at the Cloud ninja. He quickly took out his shuriken pouch, took out a few of them, and threw them at Kaoru. One of them hit his arm, causing him to spin around and see the blonde boy. He was about to attack when Mimiru stopped him.

"Allow me, Kaoru." she said, then she charged at Naruto and kicked him. Naruto was flung back, but that didn't stop him from attacking. Mimiru did an uppercut kick at him, sending him flying up into the air around 5 feet. Hinata cried, kicked, screamed, and pounded her fists onto the Cloud nin that was carrying her. Naruto hit the ground, but still managed to stand up.

Kaoru looked surprised, but Shinto and Mitsuku laughed at Naruto.

"Give it up, kid!" shouted Mitsuku.

"Yeah! You have _absolutely no chance_ against Mimiru! She's a Taijutsu master!" agreed Shinto.

Naruto groaned, then charged again, hoping to land a punch or a kick in the Cloud ninja girl.

"Is he _nuts?!_" she bewilderedly asked. She kicked him again, sending him skidding across the ground.

"D-Damn." said Naruto as he struggled to stand up. Now all of the guy ninja were laughing at him, shouting things like, "You blonde haired idiot!" and "This kid doesn't give up _does_ he?!"

Hinata, meanwhile, kept on kicking and pounding, screaming and crying with all of her might in a desperate attempt to escape from the ninja's grasp. Kaoru couldn't take it anymore, so he drew out his kunai and stabbed her right leg. Hinata screamed even harder, causing Naruto's rage to build up.

"Leave Hina-chan ALONE!!" he screamed and charged at Mimiru again. She moved to the side and kicked him back up in the air. She in turn jumped up in the air, too. Her teammates laughter turned into worried gasps.

"She isn't going to…" said Kaoru.

"She _is_!!" shouted Shinto.

"She's going to use _that technique!_ Isn't she?!" shouted Mitsuku.

Hinata just closed her eyes, hoping that the pain in her leg would stop, but she could feel her own blood drip down her leg and onto the ground. And from what she heard the Cloud ninjas said, she knew Naruto was going to die. She cried not only from the pain, but also from the fact that Naruto would be dead soon. She let the tears fall.

Back in the air, 10 feet above the ground, Naruto wasn't looking too good. He didn't want it to end here, he didn't _want_ to die! Mimiru appeared underneath him and he looked down to see the evil look on her face.

"What are you going to do?!" he asked in a frantic voice. The Cloud ninja girl chuckled, then rolled up her sleeves to reveal bandages on her arms and hands. They unraveled and started to wrap around Naruto.

"This is the Dancing Leaf technique I've been working on for _three years_ now!" When the bandages were secured around the blonde, Mimiru grabbed his arms and plunged down towards the ground, spinning as she did so. She could hear her teammates shout at her to 'stop' and to 'not do it', but she didn't care as long as she could get this over with. The spinning increased in speed until it looked like whirlwind.

"Primary Lotus!" she shouted as they neared the solid ground. At that moment, Naruto cried out in pain as a sudden burst of chakra flowed through him. An orange aura surrounded the blonde as he struggled in desperation to avoid his death. He struggled until, suddenly, he broke through the bandages and kicked away from the female Cloud ninja.

"WHAT?!" she shouted, just before she hit the ground on deep impact. A giant cloud of dust filled the air due to the ground impact. Naruto hit the ground, feet first and skidded backwards on the ground. The burst of chakra faded from his body at that moment. Although weak, he stood up and took in deep, heavy breaths.

When the dust faded, he saw Mimiru was sprawled on the ground, motionless. All of the other Cloud ninja were shocked to see that the blonde haired boy survived. Naruto looked down at his hands.

"W-What… happened?" he asked himself. Unfortunately, this left him _wide open_ for a direct attack. Kaoru glared at Naruto, then he shoved Hinata into Shinto's arms and charged at the blonde at full force!

"DIE!!" he shouted. Naruto froze in horror when he finally looked up to see a Cloud ninja charge straight at him! Hinata watched in horror, shouting, "NARUTO! RUN!!!!!"

Just then, someone stepped in front of Naruto, blocking the attack with his kunai knife. He deflected it, making Kaoru stagger backwards a bit. The mystery nin pointed his kunai at Shinto, demanding, "Drop the Hyuuga girl, NOW!"

Shinto didn't hesitate to do what he was told, so he dropped Hinata, who ran over to Naruto to make sure he was okay. Kaoru attempted to grab her when she ran past him, but was prevented from doing so by the mystery ninja.

"Leave… now." he said in a threatening tone. Kaoru growled at him.

"I don't have time to deal with a teenager!" He turned toward his teammates. "Let's move!"

Neither of them hesitated, so they ran off. Kaoru ran over to an unconscious Mimiru and picked her up. He looked over at the ninja, then at Naruto and Hinata.

"Don't think that this is the _last time_ we meet, runts!" He shouted. "We'll get our revenge on you, you'll see! 'Cause the next time we meet," He pointed at them. "You won't be so damn lucky!"

With that, he ran off with Mimiru in his arms.

Naruto and Hinata looked up at the stranger. He looked like he was fourteen years old with short red hair, light skin, and was wearing a shinobi outfit. Around the upper part of his leg was a headband; not from the Cloud village, not from Konoha, but from Sunagakure. The Sand Village.

He put the kunai back in his pouch, then looked at the two 4-year-olds. Hinata stood up and bowed, saying, "Arigatou!"

She then fell on her knees due to the injury on her leg. The ninja crouched down and examined the wound. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of bandages. He wrapped them around Hinata's injured leg.

"There. That should do it." he said when he finished. Hinata didn't bother looking at her leg, the recent event had scared the hell out of her, so she was crying. The Sand nin gently lifted the crying Hyuuga girl in his arms and tried to comfort her.

"Hey, it's okay now. There's no need to worry anymore. Everything's going to be okay." he said soothingly.

Naruto looked ticked off and he shouted, "WHAT'S GOING ON?! Who _were_ those guys?! Why'd they try to kidnap Hina-chan?! And…" He calmed down a little at this point. "Why… did you save us?"

The ninja looked down at Naruto, his sapphire eyes gleaming at him with curiosity.

"I'll explain later. But, tell me something. What are a couple of kids like you doing out here in the open?" he asked.

Naruto just said, "We ran away from Konoha. We can't tell you why though." He then eyed the orange headed ninja with suspicion. "Who are you anyway?"

The ninja smiled, saying, "Ojirou Shitake. It's nice to meet you."

The blonde raised an eyebrow.

"Uuum. Oookay. Well, I guess we should be leaving now and seeing as you're not from Konoha, we're safe. C'mon Hina-chan!" said Naruto. Hinata had calmed down now and asked if she could be put down. Ojirou obeyed. She bowed and thanked him again, then ran off to join Naruto. Ojirou stared at them for a while and couldn't help but be worried about them. He thought about this.

'_They're so young to be away from home. But, they're like me. Runaways.'_ he thought. _'Hmm. They can't protect themselves yet, so maybe… yeah, I should be their bodyguard since we're pretty much in the same boat. Plus, I'm curious about the boy. A few minutes ago, I could sense a huge amount of chakra emanating from him. Incredible, even for a four-year-old. I should look into this.'_

And with that, he ran towards the two kids and stopped them in their tracks.

"Hold on!" he said. Both Naruto and Hinata spun around and saw Ojirou with a bright smile on his face. "I'm going to accompany you two. You're gonna need the protection and I can give you that. Plus I have some money on me, so if we get to a town, I'll pay for a room at an inn. What do you say?" he asked.

Hinata and Naruto talked about it for a while, then they came to an agreement and nodded at him. All Ojirou did was smile at them as the threesome walked into the unknown.


	3. Explanations

**I am so sorry for not putting up this chapter! I had writer's block, I was banned from my computer, and I was busy with a lot of things! Forgive me, please? Anyway, on with the fanfic! Enjoy! XD**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the related characters. I only own the OCs in here.**_

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Explanations**

Naruto flopped down on a bed. It was a soft, queen sized bed. The covers were light green and the sheets and pillows were all white.

"Finally! Softness!" he cried. He then looked around at his surroundings. He was in a room of an inn. It had everything!

A nightstand, a window, three comfy chairs, a couch, a coffee table, and a bathroom included. The young blonde snuggled against the softness of the bed and took in its scent. It smelled like a sweet scented soap. He was enjoying his stay already. Two other people entered the room.

"Naruto-kun. Is it okay if…"

"Sure, Hina-chan! Hop on! It's really soft!"

Hinata didn't hesitate and jumped on the bed. Ojirou laughed warmly. "I see you're enjoying your stay here! May I join as well?" he asked. Naruto and Hinata shouted, "Yes!" and gave him some space on the bed. The Sand ninja flopped on the bed, making both kids bounce up and then back down on the bed. The threesome laughed, enjoying this very much.

After a while, they stopped laughing when Ojirou looked out the window.

"Alright," he said as he sat up. "It's getting late, we should be getting ready for bed now." That being said, he jumped off the bed, lifted up his knapsack, and headed into the bathroom.

"Don't forget to get ready yourselves!" He added before closing the bathroom door. This left Naruto and Hinata alone for a while. They both got off the bed and explored their new surroundings. They had been on the road for days now and had just entered a town. They might've left Konoha's border, but they weren't far away from it, yet.

_Two days ago._

"Are we there _yet?_" asked an impatient Naruto. Ojirou shook his head.

"Not yet Naru-chan. We'll get there in a couple of days, I promise." he said.

Naruto groaned and slumped against the tree they had stopped at. It was right next to a clear spring, waterfall and all. Hinata was in the spring, bathing. Her clothes were in her bag that was currently with the guys right now.

"Now, now Naru-chan. Be patient. We _will_ reach a town soon, I should know 'cause I've been there before." said Ojirou.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." replied Naruto in an annoyed tone. The Sand ninja sighed, then decided to change the subject.

"So, you've been alone with no one to talk to up until now, right?"

"Yeah. What about you? What's your story?"

"My story?"

Naruto nodded. Ojirou sighed and took a deep breath in before exhaling.

"Well, when I was born, I was already an outcast. Never knew _my_ parents either. Had to survive on my own. I can't exactly remember how I lived as an outcast all this time and survived. All I knew was that there was something about me that made people want to stay away from me. It's not the Shukaku spirit I told you about, but something else."

Naruto didn't look interested in the Shukaku spirit anyway, so the Sand nin continued.

"When I turned ten, I earned my ninja rank. I also earned my chuunin rank at that age, too."

Naruto stared at him in curiosity now.

"Chuunin?"

Ojirou nodded.

"You'll learn about that when you're older. Anyway, on with the rest of 'my life', okay?"

The blonde shrugged. He found it boring, but he listened anyway.

"Okay. Years pass and I was still an outcast. No matter _what_, I'm always going to be an outcast. Even if I'm a genin, chuunin, jounin, Kazekage; wouldn't make much of a difference either way, so I ran away when I turned twelve."

Naruto now stared at Ojirou in shock. He had been alone all of this time? And he didn't give a damn about it? It made Naruto's blood boil just hearing this stuff! He managed to restrain his anger and tried to relax.

"Well, you've got _us_ now. Right?" he asked. Ojirou sighed, not sure what he should say to that. All he did was smile thoughtfully and close his eyes. Hinata came back soaking wet at this point. Her bare, shivering figure was visible to anyone who might've been around.

"Um, do y-you have a-a towel or my b-blanket with you guys?" she asked through chattering teeth. When Naruto saw Hinata, blood gushed out of his nose and he fell backwards, his body twitching all over. Ojirou on the other hand, was used to seeing this when he opened his eyes and saw Hinata's figure. He sighed, then reached into the Hyuuga girl's bag and pulled out her white blanket. He wrapped it around her, drying her off as he did so.

"Hinata-san, you really need to learn to not attract unwanted attention to yourself."

"Why Take-kun?"

The Sand ninja sighed and smiled at the same time.

"You'll only attract perverts and such over here."

Hinata tilted her head to the side.

"What's a pervert?"

"Well, you'll figure it out when you're older, but I will tell one thing about them. They're just a bunch of idiotic people whose noses bleed when they see a naked or sexy looking girl. For example, Naru-chan." He points to the unconscious Naruto, who then revived and shouted, "WHAT?! NO I'M NOT!"

Ojirou had to shush the loud blonde haired boy as he finished drying off Hinata.

"Listen closely; we _really_ shouldn't attract unwanted attention. If we do, bad things will happen like getting separated, captured, tortured, raped, murdered, etc. A lot of these things will happen if we're not careful. Also we are nowhere near getting away from Konoha. We're still close to it, and yet we're so far from being free. With me so far?"

Both of the 4-year-olds nodded. Ojirou then fished out Hinata's pink kimono out of her bag and handed it to her.

"And another thing. When and _only_ when we get to a town, we have to keep a _low_ profile, meaning we can't raise suspicion for there _might_ be people searching for two young kids like yourselves there. Also, there will be _no_ running off to do your own thing. There will be _no_ leaving without me. And there will be _absolutely no_ talking to anyone whatsoever. Understand?"

More nodding. Hinata had her kimono on now and continued to listen to Ojirou.

"And another thing, you both need new clothes and a pair of shoes. I mean, how long have you been _wearing_ these for?!"

"Hey! I packed some clothes!" Naruto objected.

"_All_ of your clothes are the goddamn SAME!!" the Sand nin pointed out. Naruto grumbled in utter defeat and crossed his arms. It took a while for Ojirou to calm down. Hinata tugged on his sleeve, asking, "Do you… have enough money for clothes or food?"

Ojirou shook his head. "I only have enough for a one night's stay at an inn."

Hinata thought about this for a while, then said, "We could find work around in the town."

The Sand ninja looked surprised by this statement. He thought for a while, then he smiled and ruffled her raven hair.

"_I'll_ be the one working, though. But until we get to a town, we do our part in _not attracting _attention, okay?"

Both of the kids nodded.

_Now._

Naruto pushed a stool in front of a window, stood on it and looked out the glass. He saw some ninja, non-shinobi, children his and Hinata's age doing their daily duties and such outside. He also saw a lot of stores, inns, game areas, etc. He was as excited as a kid who had just opened his presents on his birthday. He had seriously been _dying_ to get to civilization ever since… well… **(A/N: I'm not repeating the flashback again, so… yeah, you get it by now. Sorry if I was sounding rude here.)**

Hinata on the other hand, was admiring the room from the bed all the way to the couch. She climbed on the couch and used her hands to feel around the cushions, making sure it was comfortable for lying down on.

"Hina-chan?" said Naruto.

"Hm?" said Hinata.

"How are we gonna get enough money to stay here for a few more days?"

Hinata had to think about this one.

"Um, well… Take-kun _did_ say he was going to work to keep staying here. But…"

"But?"

"But, where _is_ he going to work in this town?"

Ojirou came out of the bathroom at this point. He was dressed in sand colored pajamas and all ready for sleep. He smiled.

'_They are going to be in for a big surprise in the morning.'_ he thought to himself. After reminding the four-year-olds to get ready, he walked over to the couch and lay down on it. He fell asleep afterwards.

-----------------------------------------------

The next morning, Naruto and Hinata woke up to see that Ojirou was gone. Naruto was furious because he thought that the Sand nin abandoned them. Hinata had to reassure him over and over that Ojirou wasn't that kind of person and he was probably just searching for a job somewhere. The blonde had his doubts, but he let it slide for now. Hinata jumped off of the bed and headed into the bathroom first; Naruto went in with her just in case (he did _not_ see anything!).

After Naruto and Hinata finished getting ready for the day, they put on their clothes, draped a small black cloak over their bodies, and cautiously walked out of the room and down the stairs to get breakfast. Suddenly, Naruto was pushed to the side, causing him to fall. Hinata grabbed his wrist, but she unfortunately wasn't strong enough to pull him back on his feet and ended up falling with him down the stairs.

**CRASH!!!**

Fortunately for them, they were four steps away from the bottom of the staircase when that happened.

"Ouch. That… hurt!" yelled Naruto. Hinata just moaned a little and rubbed her bandaged leg.

"You okay, Hina-chan?" asked Naruto in a whispering tone. Hinata nodded and stood up. Naruto also stood up, then saw the person who pushed him.

A cleaning maid.

"Must've been in a hurry." he said to himself. He grabbed the hood of his cloak and put it over his head, his face partially covered in shadows. The only thing you could see was the lower half of his face. The same went for Hinata Hyuuga.

They looked around a corner to be sure there wasn't anyone they knew or who was looking for them. Naruto still thought that the search parties would come only for Hinata, since she was a Hyuuga and all. No one was there except for the innkeeper. Naruto walked out first followed by Hinata next.

The inn was nice and cozy with wooden floors and walls, which were decorated with old scrolls. Some of them talked about Konoha's history! There were also paintings of Konoha's landscape, the stone faces of the Hokage, the Leaf Village itself… and the last painting was a fox with nine tails.

Naruto walked up to the wall with that painting on it. It was an old painting that had probably been around for many years now; the edges looked rough, some of the colors on the fox were starting to wear off, and the lower left corner where the name of the artist was supposed to be was torn off. The blonde four-year-old couldn't help but stare at that painting for what seemed like forever. He had a feeling that he had seen that fox before, but he didn't know when or where it happened. He soon became lost in his thoughts, which were interrupted by Hinata, who came up from right behind him.

"Naruto-kun?" she whispered. Naruto gasped and turned to see the cloaked Hyuuga girl.

"Oh. Gomenasai Hina-chan." he whispered back. His attention turned back to the painting. "I was distracted is all."

Hinata nodded once in understanding, then looked at the painting with him.

"What is that thing?" she asked. Naruto shrugged.

"Who knows?" he replied.

"You interested in that?"

Both kids turned around to see the innkeeper. He was a man in his forties, wearing Japanese robes and sandals, had dark, messy brown hair, and a gentle look on his face. Hinata bowed, being careful not to let her hood fall off when she stood upright again. Naruto just answered the innkeeper's question by saying, "Yes."

The innkeeper sighed and walked up in front of the painting.

"I should really take that old thing down; it has way too many memories for me." He looked down at the children. "But, if you _really_ are interested, then I'll tell you."

Naruto looked excited while Hinata just kept calm and listened. The innkeeper sat down in a soft chair and gestured for them to sit down. They did.

"Now listen closely, for what I'm about to tell you is something that has been forbidden to be talked about." When he saw that the kids were listening, he took a deep breath and told the story.

"Four years ago, the Kyuubi, or the nine tailed fox demon, went on a rampage near the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Konohagakure. Many shinobi, ninja, jounin, chuunin, and ANBU were either killed or badly injured trying to protect the Village. But they couldn't stop it. The demon killed anything it saw and destroyed everything it could lay its paws on." He looked at the painting. "That painting is of the Kyuubi. It's old, but it can only carry the sad memories of those that died because of the demon." He looked back at the kids. "When all hope seemed lost for Konoha, the Fourth Hokage came and defeated the demon. It wasn't killed, but sealed in the body of a newborn baby. And to this day, that's how it's always been."

When the innkeeper finished telling the story, Naruto looked shocked and Hinata looked horrified.

"W-What ever became of the Fourth, sir?" asked Hinata. The man turned his head away from her and replied, "He died."

Hinata and Naruto gasped softly.

"But he died to save the Village, right after he sealed Kyuubi." The innkeeper added. "The memory still lives on. Everyone was forbidden to talk about the Kyuubi after that, but they still fear it. So much that they fear the Kyuubi's container."

If the innkeeper could see her face, he would've seen Hinata on the verge of tears. Naruto was a bit upset; he didn't know who the nine tailed fox's container was, but the thought made his blood boil to the max! The innkeeper stood up and took down the Kyuubi painting. He handed it to Naruto. The blonde took it, rolled it up, and put it in a pocket that was sewn inside his cloak.

"Keep it for as long as you like, I no longer want that painting in my inn anymore." said the innkeeper. Naruto nodded, then he stood up and helped Hinata get on her feet. They then forgot about getting breakfast and started walking towards the stairs. Hinata stopped walking only to look back at the innkeeper and ask, "Did you lose someone to Kyuubi?"

He nodded as a few tears fell from his eyes.

"My wife and daughter. They were both part of the ANBU and left to defend Konoha. They were killed by that demon before…" He couldn't finish and started crying. Hinata felt sorry for the innkeeper, then walked towards the stairs and went up them.

-------------------------------------

Naruto stood on Hinata's shoulders, trying not to fall off as he grabbed the doorknob. Hinata groaned under the pressure.

"Naruto-kun. We can uf! reach the doorknob… you know?"

Naruto turned the knob and opened the door, causing both he and Hinata to tumble into their inn room.

"I find this _much_ easier to do Hina-chan." he replied. They stood up and rubbed their sore areas. The blonde then took off the hood, reached into his cloak and pulled out the rolled up painting of Kyuubi. He stared at it for a while before rolling it back up. Hinata took off her hood and closed the door.

"Hey Hina-chan." said Naruto. Hinata turned her head towards the blonde.

"Hai?" she said. Naruto took in a deep breath, then stared at the Hyuuga girl with worried eyes.

"If you where to guess who Kyuubi's container is… would you guess me first or someone else?"

Hinata wasn't so sure how to answer that question. Before she could come up with an answer, the door burst open and in walked the cleaning maid from earlier.

"CLEAN UP TIIIIIMMME!!!" she shouted. Naruto dropped the scroll and jumped backwards in shock, while Hinata fell over in surprise. Before anyone could say anything, the maid had placed a bucket of water next to her, soaked the cleaning cloth, and started running around the room, cleaning the floor and everything else in it! She was done by the time Naruto tackled her from behind.

"Okay lady! What's your problem?! You just barge in here and expect to-" He had turned her over so that he could yell in her face, but when he did; he saw that the cleaning maids' face looked _very_ familiar.

"Ojirou?!" he shouted in surprise. Hinata gasped and ran over to see that the maid was indeed Ojirou Shitake.

"Take-kun? Why are you-?" she started, but was interrupted by the Sand nin, who finished her sentence by saying, "In a maids outfit? Weeeell… I had a talk with the innkeeper and he said that I could work here to keep the room, but there were no other positions left open so I took the maid position."

"Baka! Why the hell are you wearing the female's outfit?!" shouted Naruto. Ojirou sweat dropped and nervously laughed.

"Funny you should say that. You see, there are no male outfits when you work as a maid. I don't mind, though. My body pretty much looks feminine as it is."

Naruto backed away a little and saw that Ojirou was telling the truth! Hinata fainted and Naruto just socked the Sand ninja in the face.


	4. The Demon Within

**Oh boy! How long has it been since this fic has seen the light of day? Months? -sighs- I really need to let readers know when I'm having writers' block!! That and I've been ignoring this for a while, so all readers seeing this message may now commence with flames or a boot to the head...**

**-gets hit in the head with a boot- OW!!**

**... Anyway, I'm so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so SOOOOO SORRY THAT THIS IS SERIOUSLY LATE!!! DX DX DX DX**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**_

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**The Demon Within**

"How the hell did I get talked into this?" Naruto asked no one in particular as he stood outside of a small clothes store. Ojirou had the day off from work today which was a Saturday to be precise and had enough money to buy clothes for Hinata and the blonde. Hinata was reading a scroll on ninja weaponry and Naruto was looking out the window when the Sand nin had announced that. Ojirou promised them that he would get them something 'special', which now led to the threesome in front of a clothes store.

Hinata was with Ojirou so that she could pick out some clothes, too, and Naruto was outside of the store, sulking. They were both cloaked in case anyone happened to be looking for either of them. Naruto looked around, watching all of the people walk by doing their daily things.

"This habit of mine will get boring eventually." he said to himself. The blonde then looked through a window, seeing that Ojirou and Hinata were having a good time finding clothes.

'_That guy, Ojirou. I don't trust him, I mean he might be our bodyguard, but… he could be pretending to be nice to us. And the fact that he has a body like a girls'… well maybe the curves of his body are what annoy me.'_ he thought. He was about to complain out loud about waiting, when someone tapped his shoulder. Naruto immediately turned around and came face to face with a woman that had the same eyes as Hinata.

"I'm sorry to startle you little boy, but-"

'_Little boy? Who's she… oh yeah, me.'_

"I need your help with something." The woman reached into a small pouch and pulled out a scroll, unraveling it to reveal a description of Hinata Hyuuga.

It read:

_Missing: Hinata Hyuuga_

_Age: 4_

_Has short black hair and white eyes. She's also timid and shy with people and the heir to the Hyuuga clan._

_Whoever finds her will be rewarded._

There was no signature on the parchment, but the blonde couldn't care less who wrote it anyway. The woman rolled up the scroll and stared at Naruto with pleading eyes. "Do you know where she is?"

Remembering what Ojirou had told him and Hinata about keeping a low profile, the blonde silently shook his head. The woman sighed miserably.

"Well, let me know when you find her, okay?" she said and with that, she left to join a search party that was nearby. Naruto sighed in relief.

"Good. We're safe for now." he whispered to himself. Naruto didn't want to risk being asked by another search party member at any moment, so he went inside the store, regretting that he did soon after.

* * *

"Aren't you two sooooo CUTE!" exclaimed Ojirou in a cute girly tone. He was referring to Naruto and Hinata, wearing their new clothes. Hinata was wearing a light blue tank top with a navy blue skirt that had a Konoha symbol patch near the hem. She had a lavender scarf securely fastened around her neck and a pair of flip flops on her feet.

Naruto, on the other hand, was wearing an orange jumpsuit and wooden sandals. He wasn't a bit happy about it either.

'_I look like an idiot.'_ He thought as he was thinking of many ways to kill the Sand ninja. Hinata was perfectly fine with what she was wearing and wasn't really complaining at all… but she did find it a bit too much.

"Whatever." mumbled Naruto. Hinata just nodded slightly, not sure how to respond. Ojirou's smile brightened a WHOLE lot.

"GREAT!! I knew you'd love 'em!" he exclaimed. Both Naruto and Hinata sweat dropped anime style.

'_He's not listening…'_ thought Naruto. Ojirou then started talking about how he spent _hours _looking for the right clothing for them and stuff that the innkeeper told him. It was pretty boring for the loud blonde and shy Hyuuga. The Sand nin then _finally_ ended his long conversation by telling the four-year-olds that they'll leave town next week.

Both kids sighed in relief, both on which were for leaving and for the conversation ending.

"Get plenty of rest you two! As for me…" Ojirou somehow got his maid outfit on in a few seconds. "It's back to work!" And he flashed a goofy thumbs up sign along with a lopsided smirk to match. Naruto slapped his forehead and Hinata just groaned.

When Ojirou left, Naruto crawled under the bed and found the scroll that the innkeeper gave to him three days ago. He unrolled it and stared at the Kyuubi painting. Something about it seemed familiar to the young blonde, but he didn't know why, though.

The thought that he could be the container for the demon kept on reeling through his mind. What if he was? He then remembered what the innkeeper said: _'Everyone had feared Kyuubi so much that they feared its container.'_

Naruto also remembered what happened on the day that he and Hinata were attacked after leaving Konoha.

"There's no other explanation," he said, sadly and quietly. "I'm Kyuubi's container."

The blonde sighed and rolled up the scroll, putting it back in its hiding place under the bed. Hinata then crawled under the bed at that moment.

"Naruto-kun. Is something wrong?" she asked. Naruto shook his head.

"It's nothing. C'mon, let's get some lunch Hina-chan." And with that, he crawled out from under the bed, grabbed his cloak, then walked over to and waited by the door for Hinata. Hinata came out and got her cloak, then went to Naruto. They put their hoods up and left to get lunch.

Unfortunately, both 4-year-olds got bored of eating in the inn all the time, so they left the inn and started heading towards a restaurant. Hinata didn't like the idea, but Naruto convinced her to go with him. That and the fact that she couldn't resist the loud obnoxious blonde.

"And… we're here!" exclaimed Naruto when he and Hinata got there. It looked like any other restaurant… except all it served was ramen.

Hinata became instantly worried as all eyes of several people in the ramen place fell upon the twosome. "Naruto…" she whispered to him, hiding behind him. "Let's go back…"

All the blonde did was give her a confident smile as if he knew nothing bad would happen.

How wrong he was.

As soon as they managed to get on the stools, the chef- a burly and unpleasant fellow- stared at them in suspicion. "You kids planning on eatin' here?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at them.

Naruto just nodded while Hinata responded with a 'Hai.'

"Got any parents to pay for you two?"

At this, Naruto didn't respond. He had forgotten to swipe Ojirou's money this morning, like he did every day they've been in town just so he could buy a bowl of ramen every chance he got. He would end up getting caught in the end, but as long as he got ramen, he was happy.

Unfortunately, he had _completely _forgotten to get the money this time.

"Um… uhhh…" Naruto started, but before he could say anything, a familiar voice answered for him.

"They don't have parents with them, but _I'm _responsible for these two children." Naruto and Hinata slowly turned their heads to the side; standing _right next to them_ was Ojirou!

'_Oh crap!'_ Naruto thought.

"Take-kun!" gasped Hinata.

The red headed teen stared at the two, giving them a 'I'll-deal-with-you-later' look before turning back to the chef. "I just got paid and am willing to spend it for the kids."

The chef looked between Ojirou and the 4-year-olds, then shrugged a bit as if he could care less. "What do you want then?" he asked.

"Two bowls of miso ramen for the children and today's special for me please." Ojirou politely replied.

"Can do." With that, the large man went to the kitchen to prepare the order

After several minutes of waiting, the chef came back with the order.

"Okay, two bowls of miso for the young ones," he said as he put the bowls in front of Naruto and Hinata. "And the special for you." He set down a large bowl of what looked like beef ramen, then set down a smaller bowl filled with rice in front of Ojirou. "Enjoy." The chef then left to get someone else's order.

Before the children could break their chopsticks, they felt Ojirou's cold stare penetrating through them, so they turned to him with nervous expressions.

The red head stared at them for a good minute, then said, "What were you two thinking?"

Hinata would've responded, but was interrupted.

"Did you two forget what I told you before getting here? You can't run off to do whatever you want! What if someone recognizes you two??" Ojirou continued.

"G-Gomenasai… T-T-Take-kun…" Hinata apologized in a quiet tone.

Naruto, however, just shrugged and reached for the chopsticks. As soon as he touched them, Ojirou slapped his own chopsticks on the blonde's outstretched hand, making said blonde recoil his hand. Naruto tenderly rubbed it for it was now sore.

"_You_ especially Naru-chan!" said Ojirou in a displeased tone. "I'm having a hard time trying to get you to follow my terms as it is! Don't make this even harder for me!"

Naruto glared at the Sand ninja.

"_Don't_ look at me that way!" said Ojirou. "I can't believe that your ungrateful behavior is how you repay me for looking after you these past several days!" With that, he broke his chopsticks and began to eat.

What he said really struck Naruto hard… like a flurry of kunai were stabbing at him from the inside out. Ungrateful? When was _he_ ungrateful to Ojirou?

… Okay, so it was a stupid question to ask himself. Then again, he really hadn't been following some of Ojirou's rules since they got here, but what did that red head know? He had been bored out of his mind with just being around the inn, so he _should_ have the right to go outside every once in a while!

Naruto just sat there for a while, staring at his bowl of ramen before he broke his chopsticks and began to eat. Unlike the times he enjoyed his ramen, it just didn't taste good to him at the moment. He set his chopsticks down.

"I'm not hungry…" the blonde murmured as he hopped off the stool and made his way outside. This concerned Hinata very much.

"Um, Take-kun?" Hinata said to Ojirou. "I'm going to check on Naruto-kun for a bit."

Not a smart thing to say.

All went quiet as all eyes focused on the Hyuuga and Sand ninja; their eyes had a menacing look to them. Just then, one of the people in the ramen bar, a kunoichi, stood up and walked over to Hinata, then said, "Did you just say 'Naruto'? As in 'Naruto _Uzumaki_'?"

Upon hearing that, Ojirou nearly choked on his food in surprise. "Umm…" he started. "No, she didn't! You must be confusing the name with someone else…"

"She wasn't asking _you!_" shouted a non-shinobi from a nearby table.

Hinata didn't know what to say or do. Obviously, Naruto didn't have a good reputation, but unfortunately, the 4-year-old Hyuuga girl didn't know _why._

"U-Um… well…" she stuttered. "H..Hai…?"

An outburst of claims and protests against Naruto rang out throughout the bar before they were silenced by the kunoichi. "I _thought_ so!" she said. "Will you two step outside for a second?"

Ojirou sighed, then stood up. "Leave her out of this!" he said. "_I'll_ step outside if it's not too much trouble."

The kunoichi smirked. "Not at all." She said before leading the red headed ninja outside.

Hinata gulped. This wasn't going to end well…

------------------

No sooner had they stepped out of the ramen bar when Ojirou was suddenly kicked to the ground by the kunoichi. He groaned, then rolled out of the way of her kunai as she attempted to stab him.

"I don't understand!" Ojirou exclaimed as he parried her kunai with his. "Why are you attacking me??"

The kunoichi chuckled, then leaned in close to the Sand nin's ear and whispered, _"You're harboring the demon, aren't you? If so, then you're an enemy to 'us' as well."_

She then forced the kunai down with Ojirou doing his best his hold her back. "What are you… talking about?" he asked.

"You don't get it?" said the kunoichi before flinging his weapon away and pressing the blade to his throat. "The Uzumaki boy is a _monster_ in disguise! Have you heard the legend of the Nine Tailed Fox? Or have you heard how it attacked Konoha?? How about when the Fourth Hokage sealed the demon into a baby boy? Any of those ring any bells?!"

Ojirou growled a little. "I honestly don't know _anything!_" he shouted. "I'm from Sunagakure! How am I supposed to know?!"

All of the shouting was attracting too much attention from several passerby who were wondering what was going on.

The kunoichi pressed on. "Hand the boy over to us and you'll be spared. A monster…. no, a _demon_ like him… doesn't deserve to live!" she said with a sinister smirk. At that moment, Ojirou kneed the woman in the stomach then wrenched the kunai out of her hands. Now _he_ was the one who pinned _her_ to the ground, kunai pressed against the throat.

"I don't know _what the hell_ you're talking about," he said through gritted teeth. He was angry, that's for sure! "But the only 'demon', the only 'monster' that I see…" He then raised the kunai and plunged it to the ground, mere inches from the kunoichi's head. "Is _you_ and whoever hates Naruto!"

People from within the crowd gasped at what he said, whispering amongst themselves as the red head continued.

"I admit, he may be a pain in the rear from time to time, he may screw up, he may be foolish, and he _may_ seem selfish! But he's _not_ the monster you claim him to be! He's Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure, a ninja-in-training and soon to be greater than scum like you!!" Ojirou finished it with a smirk, then slowly stood up.

The stunned kunoichi only watched in silence for a while…. then smirked.

Before anyone could tell what was going to happen, a second kunoichi appeared from behind the Sand ninja and stabbed him in the back (literally!). Ojirou yelled out in pain, then did a spin kick to the female ninja, which disappeared as soon as his foot made contact with it. Confused, he removed the kunai from his back and looked around, not seeing the kunoichi anywhere!

The next thing that came to him were several kicks to the sides and numerous pressure points being pressed all over his body before he collapsed, paralyzed.

'_I… I can't move!'_ he thought.

"Ahahahahaha Ha!" the kunoichi laughed as she reappeared next to Ojirou. "How do you like my technique? It's a special genjutsu. I placed one on you before we started fighting… I also used one of my clones to add to the effect, but no hard feelings, right?"

All that she got from the immobile ninja was an angered groan and an icy glare. This made the kunoichi chuckle in amusement. She then pressed the blade of her kunai against his throat. "Let's see now," she said. "Shall I give you a slow and painful death… or a quick and painless one? Decisions, decisions."

The ninja stared at the wound in Ojirou's back. "Or maybe I can torture you a little and deepen that wound on your back…" She pretended to think for a while before coming up with something. "We'll just go with a quick and painless death." As she raised the kunai, several shuriken zoomed past the crowd, aimed at her hand.

One had hit her hand while the other shuriken hit the ground. The kunoichi yelped in pain and dropped her kunai knife, then she yanked out the shuriken. Her hand was bleeding profusely for it had hit her wrist. She looked towards where the shuriken came from and shouted, "Who dares interfere?!"

The crowd then parted and revealed a young 4-year-old in a black cloak with the hood up. At first the child didn't say anything…. then…

"So…. it _is_ true…" The child lowered the hood of the cloak revealing his face. "The Kyuubi… a demon… rests within me."

"_You?!_" the kunoichi shouted in disbelief.

'_Naruto!'_ Ojirou thought as he recognized the boy's voice.

Naruto's head was lowered as he spoke the next words. "Now I know why people have always ignored me or gave me a cold stare… I don't care if you hurt me, but if you hurt my friends or my sensei," He raised his head at this point, revealing a glare that would freeze over Hell and tearstains on his cheeks.

"I'll KILL YOU!!"

* * *

**Hee! XD ... To those who don't recognize the reference at the end, please read Volume 1 of the Naruto manga or watch the first episode of the anime. It's kinda like that only the characters (excluding Naruto), the time frame, and the situation are different.**

**I just got started on the fifth chapter, but I'm not sure what should happen... I'm open to suggestions on the next chapter, but just so you fellow readers will be aware, there won't be much action in the beginning of the 5th chapter.**

**Until then! ^^**


End file.
